1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rack for battery packs used for transporting, storing in a warehouse, or installing NaS batteries or other battery packs.
2. Description of Related Art
A battery pack such as a NaS battery, a lithium-ion battery, or a Ni—H2 battery is formed as a battery module by densely arranging a plurality of unit cells in a case. Examples thereof are described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, and the like. Although there is a case where such a battery module is used alone, there are many other cases where a plurality of battery modules is combined together for storing a large amount of power.
Patent Document 3 describes an example in which battery modules are stored inside a container provided with shelf boards so that the battery modules can be pulled out. However, an actual facility for storing a large amount of power is a large facility that uses several dozens of battery modules. For this reason, when such a facility is newly built, a steel-framed installation rack capable of storing therein several dozens of battery modules is installed at an installation site, and the battery modules transported from a factory are set inside the installation rack one by one using a dedicated tool provided with a hoisting and push-in function. However, since such a dedicated tool is not necessary after completion of the installation, it causes a waste in the cost. Further, constructing the installation rack requires many days and much cost.
Further, since the battery modules are heavy, they are shipped from the factory in a state of being stored with cushioning materials in a steel-framed transportation rack. Since the NaS batteries are often exported overseas, the transportation rack having a sufficient strength to avoid troubles during transportation is used. However, such a transportation rack becomes unnecessary after installing the battery modules in the installation rack, and this involves a lot of cost regardless of whether it is scrapped locally or it is sent back to Japan.